Utility Week

The Month in Review UTILITY WEEK | SEPTEMBER 2022 | 7 Demand management advice ignored by ministers A group of senior water sector figures working to address demand management challenges has been disbanded in the same week that a drought was declared across much of the country. The Senior Water Demand Reduction Group (SWDRG) was formed in 2020 at the request of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to advise government and regula- tors on demand management. In its short existence, SWDRG issued a report to Defra and Ofwat that said water efficiency should be at the heart of action to address the looming water deficit of four billion litres per day by 2050. The report called for greater ambition for demand targets than the Environment Act included. Waterwise chief executive Nicci Russell, who chaired the group, said: "Unfortu- nately, against the advice of the group, the former minister [Rebecca Pow] told us that she believes measures already in train in England will be enough to tackle the deficit. Similarly, we have seen little evi- dence of Ofwat engaging with the group's recommendations for its own regulation, particularly in setting the next price review for water companies through PR24." Following some back and forth between the group and government, SWDRG noted political and regulatory appetite was a bar- rier to progress on managing demand. It also highlighted the absence of any budget for commissioning new work, which it noted was in contrast to the "sig- nificant budget allocated to RAPID to drive supply-side measures". Russell thanked the group for its work and said responsibility for action was beyond the water companies alone. "The SWDRG has been clear all along that existing commitments will not be enough to do this. We put some flags in the ground in the hope that they will be picked up," she said. "It's a no-brainer to factor the contribution from large-scale water effi- ciency into the climate crisis – for one, it can help reduce energy bills, in the current cost of living crisis." She urged government, regulators, and water companies to invest in greater water efficiency, saying: "We are all responsible for taking action." Group deputy chair Sarah McMath, chief executive of MOSL, added: "Our work must continue. With the ongoing changes to the political landscape in England and extreme periods of hot weather and drought expected, we urge ministers to continue to focus on the long term and the demand challenges we face as a nation, while managing the very real impact of climate change, the cost of living crisis and increasing population growth. It is essential that our future water supplies are secured, and that the environment remains top of the agenda." She called for a "top down driven" shi› in customer behaviour together with investment to enable the water industry to develop and implement innovative and long-term solutions for customers and the environment. The Month in Review £420m Maximum amount coal generators are expected to be paid to remain available over winter if fuel supplies to gas generators are disrupted. 1 in 3 Number of UK adults willing to pay more for water bills to boost resilience against water shortages and flooding, according to research commissioned by Cavendish Advocacy. 69% Number of businesses that expect their energy costs to increase in the next quarter, according to CBI. £130 Saving a typical household can make per annum by reducing the flow temperature of boilers from 70C to 50C. Campaigners trigger Sizewell C court challenge Campaigners against EDF's planned new nuclear plant at Sizewell have instigated a legal bid to overturn Kwasi Kwarteng's deci- sion to award the project planning permis- sion on 20 July. The secretary of state for business and energy granted consent to the 3.2GW scheme, overturning the Planning Inspec- torate's recommendation that it should not receive the go-ahead. Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), an umbrella group that brings together oppo- nents of the project, has sent Kwarteng a pre-action protocol (PAP) letter. This signals the start of a judicial review on the grounds that the project was given development consent unlawfully. The examining authority appointed by the Planning Inspectorate partly accepted TASC's arguments that the nuclear power station should not be built at Sizewell because of uncertainties surrounding water supply for cooling its twin reactors. The campaigners also raised concerns that the coastline would not be resilient for the entire lifetime of the project, which is due to be built next to the existing Sizewell B nuclear plant. TASC, represented by law firm Leigh Day, said there had been a failure to fully assess the implications of the project by ignoring the issue of a water supply. Pete Wilkinson, chair of TASC, said: "The case against Sizewell C is overwhelming, as has been carefully documented through- out the inquiry stage and was found by the Planning Inspector to have merit. Even to consider building a £20 billion-plus nuclear power plant without first securing a water supply is a measure of the fixation this gov- ernment has for nuclear power and its panic in making progress towards an energy policy which is as unachievable as it is inappropri- ate for the 21st century challenges we face." Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith said TASC is "understandably shocked" that Kwarteng had gone against the Planning Inspectorate's "considered and reasoned view". EDF was contacted for a comment. In July, the government cleared Sizewell C to become the first nuclear project to be financed under the regulated asset base model, which has already been used to fund other large infrastructure projects such as the Thames Tideway super sewer. Russell: 'no-brainer'

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